On Darker Wings
by Kari Anna
Summary: Even the invulnerable have weaknesses. When a broken young Superman shows up, can Lex put him back together? WARNING: DARK, ADULT THEME
1. Chapter One

On Darker Wings  
Pairing(s): Clex, if m/m relationships bug you, move on.  
Rating/Warnings: Rated R, and will be dealing with rape issues. If this bothers you, please move on to something else. No graphic descriptions.  
Spoilers: None

DISCLAIMER: If you sic lawyers on me, they will find no blood to suck. I don't even own the computer on which I write.

Author's Note: Man, am I an angst queen or what?

**Chapter One**

Pain shot through Superman, suddenly as a sickeningly familiar weak feeling overtook him. He hated it. In his mind, there was little worse than feeling helpless.

He was just wrapping up his nightly patrol around the city before heading back to his dorm at Met U for the night. Superman knew there was only one thing that could be making him feel this way, but it didn't seem to fit. There were no deposits of kryptonite, green or otherwise, in Metropolis. _Unless it's another one of those damned souvenir meteor rocks vendors sell to the tourists._

Superman glanced around as quickly as the weak feeling would allow, his keen eyes searching for the source of his pain. A muffled giggle came from the alley at his right. He turned toward it, wondering why anyone would be in an alley in the worst part of the city when it was past one in the morning. By the time he reached the source of the sound, he was very much hunched over, clutching his gut in pain. It was all he could do not to collapse on the cracked cement of the alley.

Another giggle. "Wow, Superman," said a voice that was breathy with suppressed laughter. "I've been a fan ever since you started fighting crime last year. And now, I can show you how I feel."

"Y-you should get home, miss," Superman advised, his pain-fogged mind barely registering that the silhouette was that of a woman. He gasped out, trying to keep the tremor out of his voice, "It's n-not safe to... to be out in th-this part of town at night. You could... get hurt."

"Oh, I don't think I'll get hurt," the woman replied. Her voice became soft, almost seductive. "But you might."

Suddenly several rocks were thrown at him, surrounding him. Each took on a green glow, as they began to react with Superman's Kryptonian physiology. His eyes went wide as he realized what they were, and pain and weakness pulled him to lay on the cold concrete. The woman advanced on him, her face still hidden in the shadow of night. Her steps were slow and deliberate, as if savoring his fear.

And despite the slowing, weakening effect kryptonite had on his heart, it swiftly pounded against his ribs. The sound nearly drowned out the woman's words, as she whispered in his ear, "It'll be over soon."

* * *

Superman flew to the first place that came to mind. Lex Luthor's apartment, halfway across the city. When he reached the building, he supersped past the lobby, not wanting to explain why the great Superman wanted to see Lex. He found door with the right number and knocked desperately until he heard a familiar voice call irritably, "I'm coming, I'm coming."

A few seconds later the door swung open. In less than a second, Lex went from being annoyed to shocked. He pinched the bridge of his nose and muttered, "I really need to cut back on the scotch."

"Lex, can I come in? I can't-- I-I don't want to talk out here," Superman asked when the older man just stared at him.

"Uh, I guess so." He moved aside, gesturing for Superman to take the couch. He closed the door, then sat down on the loveseat opposite the other man. "So, I guess I have to ask why you're here."

Blue eyes bored into Lex's gray ones with a broken look. "It's me, Clark."

Lex's eyes widened. For the first time, he took in Superman's tattered costume and disheveled appearance. Many rips exposed wounds. Cuts, scratches, bruises. Concern overcame his shock and curiosity, and he crossed the short distance to his friend and began checking him over, making sure nothing was broken. Clark flinched at first, when Lex's fingertips touched his right arm, where Lex started.

Realization hit him then, and he stopped to gaze into the younger man's eyes and ask gently, "What happened, Clark?"

Clark looked away. His reply, when it came, was choked and hesitant. "I... I was just finishing my-my patrol, you know. Do-doing my last round for the night. I-I couldn't stop her. She had kryptonite, and I c-couldn't move. I tried, but I-I couldn't...."

Lex barely noticed the salt-sting of the tears that formed in his eyes. He wanted to hug his Clark, but worried that it would scare him rather than comfort him.

"Clark," he tried to get the younger man to look at him, but to no avail. "Clark." Still no response. Lex resorted to grabbing Clark's chin to get eye contact. Only to find that Clark's eyes were clenched tightly shut. So Lex did what instinct told him to do. He hugged Clark.

At first the younger man was stiff in his arms, but gradually Clark relaxed. He buried his face in Lex's shoulder and cried himself to sleep.

* * *

Let me know if it's any good. Reviews are ink to the writer's pen.


	2. Chapter Two

Someone sent me a reply after I posted the first chapter on , saying they were lost and confused. I'll try to get some of the issues cleared up in this chappie.

DISCLAIMER: Why am I tormented so?

**Chapter Two**

Terror sang through Clark's nerves, setting him on edge and getting ready for attack-- his or someone else's. The morning brain-fog had kept Clark from remembering, for a few minutes, the previous night's events. But not even sleep could erase the fear and wariness that had been branded into his mind.

Slowly, as the young man took in his surroundings, he began to remember where he was. A less welcome memory, his reason for coming here, to Lex's apartment, accompanied the first. He shuddered and tried to block out the memory, instead turning his thoughts to the sleeping man whose arms were still wrapped gently around his waist.

When Clark had graduated, he and Lex had not been on the best of terms. Their friendship was dissolving under their colossal lack of trust in each other. Even so, Lex could see no reason to remain in Smallville when Clark went off to college at Metropolis University. Though they were only a fifteen-minute drive away from each other, they rarely saw each other anymore, and phone calls were nearly as scarce.

The sudden rift in their relationship didn't sit well with either man, but pride wouldn't allow either of them to be the first to apologize. Both silently cursed the mistrust and over-done pride that had been bred in them by their fathers.

_Last night sure as hell changed that,_ thought Clark, snuggling back into the warmth of the body behind his. It calmed his still-frayed nerves, and he felt safe, knowing Lex was there. Even though they hadn't been very close over the past year, _year and a half?_ Lex was still the person he could count on when things went wrong. Hell, he'd welcomed him back with open arms last night, when Clark revealed who he was. And despite the curiosity he knew his friend had felt, the only questions he'd asked had been purely in concern for him.

Clark sighed. Behind him, Lex shifted. Then the older man groaned, "Remind me that high-fashion couches aren't for sleeping on, next time. It's hardly meant for sitting on, much less laying on."

A small smile tugged at Clark's cut lips, cracking open the wound again. He ignored the slight pain, but Lex noticed when a tiny bead of blood formed next to the dried blood clinging to his lip. Lex frowned, and again assessed what he could see of his friend's condition. "C'mon, Clark, let's get your cuts cleaned up, before they get infected."

Clark considered protesting that he didn't get infections, but then remembered his wounds had been inflicted by kryptonite, and God only knew what would come of that. Besides, with the look on Lex's face, he figured nothing would dissuade him from trying to make sure Clark's injuries were all properly taken care of. So he let the older man drag him into the bathroom and apply more first aid stuff than Clark had ever known existed.

"Yowch!" Clark exclaimed, pouting when some disinfectant Lex was applying stung in one of the many gashes on his chest.

"Sorry Clark," Lex said, trying not to show how amused he was at the sight of his friend pouting, "but these cuts need to be cleaned."

More pouting.

"I think Martha would agree."

That ended that. Lex swore that woman had every man she met under her thumb. The Martha Kent glare of 'Mother-knows-best' got anyone in their right mind to dang well do as she said and not argue. Besides that, Clark didn't really want to explain how he got hurt in the first place.

Finally Lex had finished cleaning all the wounds he could see. "You go ahead and take a shower. I'll leave some clothes for you in my room, and we'll bandage everything up when you're done."

Clark nodded and Lex left.

He turned on the water. When it was scalding hot, he stepped in and let it wash over him, easing the ache that had formed in his muscles from being so tense for so long. He shampooed his hair before scrubbing his skin raw with a soap-soaked sponge. Finally, when the water was almost cold an hour and a half later, he let the soap slide off under the spray, then turned it off and stepped out. He dried off and wrapped a towel around his waist.

Lex's room was adjoined to the bathroom, and within a minute or so he was wearing pants that were obviously too big for Lex but still a little small on him, and a shirt that Lex would drown in if he ever tried to wear it, but fit Clark pretty well. Out in the living room, Lex was sitting in an armchair that looked only slightly better than the elegant but uncomfortable couch they'd slept on.

He was just getting off the phone when Clark wandered in. He smiled up at Clark, and said, "I was just getting off the phone with one of my guys. I took the liberty of asking him to get some of your clothes and things from your dorm." Rather than feeling as if his privacy had been violated, he felt relieved. "If you don't mind, I want you to stay here with me for a while." Clark nodded. "Oh, and I had that suit burned. Figured you wouldn't want to see it again."

Tears welled in Clark's eyes. _Damn. Lex thinks of everything._ "Thanks Lex."


	3. Chapter Three

Yay! I love this story. Out of all the ones I've written so far this one and _Promise Me_ are my favorites. And I think the other is best left a one-shot, so this is my fave WIP.

Tom-Welling1390: You and me both, buddy! This is the most fulfilling non-one-shot I've worked on yet. And I've read both _Estranged_ and _Nightmare_, and I have to say you're a pretty damn good writer yourself. You deserve a tin of my Grandma's homemade butterscotch fudge for the lovely review :)

DISCLAIMER: _throws up_ Eew.

**Chapter Three**

Lex watched torn between amusement and worry as Clark attempted to sneak out of the apartment. He was, once again, wearing a Superman outfit. Clark remained in the window sill for over a minute, a look of uncertainty on his face. In the past three days, since Clark had been staying with Lex, the younger man had been more insecure than when they had first met, when the younger of the two was fourteen.

Deciding to help him make his decision, Lex revealed his presence by asking, "Are you ready?"

Clark leaned against the window frame. "No," he sighed, shutting his eyes. "But people are getting hurt out there. They think I've abandoned them, Lex."

Lex moved forward and wrapped his arms around Clark. "Let your Messiah complex go, for a moment. Do you think there's a chance you can do it without being overtaken by fear?"

Eyes tightly clenched shut, Clark replied, "I really don't know. Part of me doesn't want to go back yet. But on the other hand..."

"Yeah. I know. But you can't rush yourself into going back. You've barely had time to heal _physically,_ not to mention emotionally. I'm not trying to be pessimistic, here, Clark, but it could be a while before your faith in people grows enough to handle this." He paused, letting it sink in. "On the other hand, you could go out there and do just fine. Maybe even save a damsel in distress or two." Clark flinched. Memories fought their way to the surface, but Lex brought him out of it before it could take hold. "What I'm saying is, don't rush yourself, because you could make things worse. I want you to be careful. You're my only real friend, and selfish as it is, I want you safe and sound."

Clark lay his head on Lex's shoulder and contemplated what he'd said.

Finally, he said quietly, "I guess I'll be ready to go back out there when I'm ready to tell my parents."

Lex tucked Clark's head under his chin and whispered, "Yeah."

* * *

After about a week in Lex's care, he deemed Clark ready to attend classes at Met U again, but neither even considered Clark moving back into the dorms yet. So every day Lex would drop Clark off at school on his way to his office, and pick him up on a delayed lunch break. The rest of the work day, Clark would hang out in the office with his friend, serving as both entertainment and a living calculator. After work, they'd take off and do something fun the rest of the day, which was usually someplace rather public so Clark would become more relaxed around other people again.

The press was having a field day seeing them everywhere together, but neither of _them_ gave a flying shit, so they did pretty much as they pleased. It really riled Alina, Lex's head of PR, which Lex found amusing. How could it not be when her face turned red without fail, and scrunched up in such comedic fashion?

Lex rolled his eyes at another rag with a picture of them walking side by side, the headline asking, _Has Billionaire Lex Luthor Taken a Male Lover?_ Then in the lower right hand corner, there was a quote fromsome actress or other, saying, _"They Make Such a Cute Couple!"_

"You won this time. Missed my spare," Clark said with a grin as he plopped down next to Lex. They were in a rather beat-up old bowling alley that was rarely visited by the press or anyone else, making it Lex's favorite bowling alley in Metropolis. Wiggling his eyebrows, he asked, "Whatcha readin'?"

Without looking up, Lex replied, "A list of places we've been caught 'making out,' according to the _Weekly Star._"

Clark grinned. He got as much of a kick out of the goofy articles as Lex did. "Any new ones?"

"Some oddball gym I've never heard of and a beauty salon, " Lex replied with a grin, setting down the rag-mag just in time to see Clark roll his eyes.

"They could at least name off a place or two we've actually _been_ to."

"Yeah. Ridiculous." Lex picked up his bowling ball, put it in his bag, then switched his bowling shoes for his usual dress shoes. Clark did the same. "So, where d'you wanna have dinner tonight?"

"La Burrita," came the predictable reply. Clark really had a thing for spicy food. The waitresses all knew him by name now.

Lex grinned and shook his head. "Mexican food it is, then."

* * *

They had gotten their food to go, this time. They were sitting peacefully snuggled close on the couch, watching some Monday night football and eating their Super Nachos when Lex's home phone rang. After a few rings, the answering machine picked it up, and a guy on the other end of the line started yelling.

"Hey, you punk-ass rich bitch! Picka the phone! That pansy-ass don't needa be stayin' ousside the dorms! Juss 'cause he's ya friend don' mean he's too good to stay witha ress of us!" yelled a slurring, drunken voice. Lex rolled his eyes, but otherwise ignored it. He and Clark were getting used to these calls. Then a new, sober-sounding voice joined in. It was a feminine voice.

"C'mon, Clarkie. Answer the phone like a good boy."

Suddenly Clark went stiff against Lex's right side, the color draining from his face. Lex's brow furrowed. "Clark?" Clark didn't respond.

"Clarkie, I'll come see you, since you won't pick up my call," the voice promised, with a hint of mischief.

If how hard Clark was pressing into Lex's side was any indicator, Clark was trying very hard to be invisible. He was also squashing Lex's right leg in the process. There was a click on the line, and it went dead, but the young man's fear did not share the same fate.

"Clark, tell me what's going on," Lex asked quietly, shifting to embrace his friend.

"That was her," Clark whispered back.

TBC...


	4. Chapter Four

Ooo! I can't wait to find out what happens in this chapter! _Sees the readers giving her strange looks_ What? I know nothing more about what's going to happen than you do, Dear Reader. An author is just a glorified reader. _Grins._ A platitude worthy of Jonathan himself :)

DISCLAIMER: So there was this guy, and he turns to this girl, and he says, "She _so_ doesn't own it, dude."

**Chapter Four**

Lex stared at Clark for a moment, trying to think of what Clark meant.

"Her?" Realization dawned. "_Her?_ Are you sure?"

Clark gave a tiny nod, like a little boy confirming to his mother that the nightmare had been about zombies jumping out of his bedroom walls. His whole body was as tense as a rubber band stretched nearly to the breaking point, as he tried not to tremble. Memories drowned him, and he felt the sudden urge to grab a blanket and hide under his bed, like he had done during thunder storms when he was little.

For his part, Lex's head was spinning. His seemingly invincible friend was scared stiff. His seemingly invincible friend who had become Superman. The Man of Steel was currently sitting curled into the side of a billionaire who'd been his best friend since high school, trying to make himself invisible.

All to suit the whims of some crazy chick.

Now _Lex_ was shaking, and it wasn't in fear.

_The last thing Clark needs right now is anger. I have to re-establish his sense of safety,_ Lex thought. "Clark."

The man was staring at an inconspicuous spot on the wall, lost in unwelcome thoughts. Gently, Lex shook him out of his trance, watched the relief flicker in blue eyes for a moment. "Clark, you are safe here. She has to get through me first, and kryptonite can't hurt me."

Clark nodded, but the words didn't get through to him. He buried his face in Lex's neck, trying to hide from the evils that had, without warning, decided to prey upon his life. Lex granted him that. He wrapped his arms around the younger man, whispered soothingly to him.

Five minutes wasn't enough to calm him down as much as Lex wanted, but he let go anyway. He noticed the rejection in Clark's eyes. "I need to call the building security, and the police."

Clark visibly relaxed. _Of course. Lex will make sure we're as safe as possible._

The young billionaire's thoughts were a bit less optimistic. Long years of practice at hiding his emotions ensured that none of his worry leaked into his outward behavior, but his mind was hectic. _What if I'm already too late? She may have been in another part of this building, for all I know. She might have goons with her. Since she knows Superman's identity she must know we're constantly together. Obviously she'll have kryptonite with her._

Cellphone in hand, Lex got up and began to pace as he waited for rent-a-cops to pick up the phone. Finally, he got building security, and warned them. Then he called the cops. Settling down at the promise of officers coming to his apartment, he moved back to Clark's side. Clark was trying to focus on the football game on TV, but from the fact that he was still shaking, Lex ascertained that he was still scared. _I don't blame him,_ he thought with a mental snort. _I would be too. All I have to do is think of Desiree but worse. With kryptonite and without the pheromones that made me willing._

"The cops are coming, Clark. It'll be okay." He knew it. Nothing was going to hurt his friend, he'd make sure of it.

Clark looked up at him, for all the world looking like a lost puppy that had been kicked one too many times. Without a second thought Lex reached down to hug him. Before his hand reached Clark though, a loud bang interrupted them. Between that, and the loud snickers and chuckles from that direction, Clark and Lex's attention was drawn to the source of the noise: the door.

Several muscular, tattoo-laden thugs stood in the doorway, obviously smug about something. The shortest of the group was smirking and cracking his knuckles, but neither Lex nor Clark paid much attention to the spectacle these goons made in the posh apartment. No, what drew their attention was the petite, curvy figure in front of them, even more out of place among the thugs, than the thugs in the apartment.

It was _her_.

* * *

_Grins._ I know I'm evil. Muwahahahaha!

You want to know who _she_ is. The one with the guts to torment Superman.

_Grins ultra-evilly._ You're going to have to review, then, aren't you? I don't typically do this, but I'm holding this information hostage. My demands, in exchange for the hostage: a minimum of _three_ reviews, and a bowl of cereal. I haven't slept all night, and I'm starved. Dinner was hours ago. Lol!


	5. Author's Note and Poll

I know, I know. I got my three reviews and bowl of cereal a long time ago. I'm sorry for the long wait. I couldn't decide who the crazy chick should be. Then I enlisted the help of my readers on but they've been no help. Originally I wanted it to be Alicia, because her teleportation would explain how they got to Lex's so fast, but she's dead and I haven't seen Season Four so I don't know if there's a possible loophole for her to have lived or not. I refuse to use a dead character. So I want you guys to vote. Please. I know I should have decided who it would be when I started writing the story, but I didn't.

I do know that I want it to be someone Clark knows from his past in Smallville. So here it is:

Alicia

Jessie

Lana

Chloe

Lois

Kara

Someone else? Who am I missing? Anyone?

Anyway, yeah, please help me out here. Thankies! And here's a shout-out to all of you who reviewed:

Leu-chan

zeynel: Thanks for mentioning that. I plan on bringing Martha and Jonathan into the story very soon. In the meantime, here's a cookie for you:hands zeynel a giant cookie:

Raven's Light

Grasping at Straws

drarrysev: Get your butt in gear on _Denial,_ chicka!

Tom-Welling1390: Thank you for the reviews, and the cereal. Here. Take the Bayer. It's supposed to prevent heart-attacks :) Yes I know I'm a smart-aleck.

kittybarwik: Sorry about the cliffie. At least now you know why I did it. Thanks for the multiple reviews you sent :)

tejdog1: Umm, you wanted to know how far removed from HS we are? Clark's twenty in this fic, so he's in his second year of college.

Alicia

Smallville's Chick: You're awesome.You reviewed more than one chapter.

Wanda

n: You need a name! AAAGGH! I know, I'll call you N-omoly! ACK! Does the funky name mean you're a villain? (Duh-nuh-nuh!)

The Die-Hard

The Clex-Luver


	6. Chapter Five

The votes are in! SHE is-- drum roll, please-- you'll see! What? You thought I'd tell you :Evil grin:

DISCLAIMER: Come on. If I owned it, nobody would even know what the hell a rift was.

**Chapter Five**

She smiled, a predatory gleam in her entrancing hazel eyes. "You just couldn't play nice, could you, Clarkie?"

"Lana!" Clark exclaimed in shock. _She's the one who hurt me? But-but _why?_ I know we didn't part on the _best_ of terms, but... _

Lex had his head on straight, and started employing stalling tactics. It wasn't likely he could stall her until the police arrived, but it was worth a shot. "Lana, why would you do this?"

She glared at him. The hostile look seemed so out of place on her. "I know the police are coming." Without shifting her steely gaze from Lex, she ordered, "Boys, give Mr. Kent a few tokens to remember us by, until we meet again."

The goons enthusiastically carried out her order, minus the biggest one who was busy holding Lex back. The other three crowded around Clark, green kryptonite glowing eerily in their hands. In little more than a minute they seemed to have managed to damage at least a few of Clark's ribs, and Lex knew that if his friend had been normal he would have been black and blue the next day. Police sirens sounded in the distance, and Lana said harshly, "Let's go, guys. Mr. Luthor spoiled our little party."

Two of the three goons backed off of Clark, but the smallest one didn't. He took out a small, crudely fashioned kryptonite blade and dragged the point down Clark's face over his right eye. Satisfied, the thug put the blade away and followed Lana out. The goon holding Lex let go and raced to catch up with the others.

Pissed off as Lex was just then, he ignored the urge to chase the bastards down. He couldn't take them out on his own. Instead, he grabbed the bits of kryptonite that the thugs had left behind, and got it as far away from Clark as he could. Then he knelt next to the beaten man and began checking his injuries. Without the green rocks in near proximity he was already starting to heal. Lex could see the cut on Clark's face closing up, and although he knew that soon there would be nothing but that bit of blood from the cut to indicate anything had happened, he continued checking for injuries.

Clark gently pushed Lex back and said, "I'll be okay."

Lex went and got a damp washcloth to get the blood off Clark's face. He had just rinsed the blood off the rag when there was a sharp rap on the still-gaping door of his apartment. Lex moved to answer it, and found a policeman. _If I didn't know any better I'd swear cops have some sort of radar that tells them when the bad guys are gone,_ the youngbillionaire thought irritably. Outwardly, his demeanor was pleasantly polite.

"Hey, uh, we got acall saying there was going tobe trouble here?" The cop was confused. There didn't seem to be anything wrong, except that the kid who'd been hanging around Luthor lately was sitting on the floor. But when you live with a billionaire, the cop guessed you could sit wherever you wanted.

"You just missed them, officer. There was a group of four thugs, and a woman named Lana Lang. We suspect she hired the men. They fled when they heard the sirens," Lex said. It was a half-truth, not really a lie. The officer nodded, writing down the important stuff.

"Okay, and can you describe any of the men for me? Any identifying marks, anything that'd make these guys stand out in a crowd?"

"One was a midget," Clark spoke up. The officer's eyes darted to Clark, then back down to his notepad. "And one ofthem had a skull and crossbones tattooed on his forehead. There wasn't anything especially significant about the other two, as far as I could tell."

"Alright," said the cop. "We'll look into Miss Lang, and see if we can find any guys with those profiles in our database."

Lex stepped up and shook the man's hand. "Thank you, officer."

"You're welcome. You kids have a nice evening." The policeman left.

Lex turned and walked into his bedroom. "Let's get packing, Clark."

"What?"

A bald head poked out between the door and doorframe. "She knows where you are, and you _saw_ how easily she got in here. We're going elsewhere. Hopefully someplace inconspicuous enough that we won't be all over the news."

"Oh. Where?" Clark asked.

Lex grinned as he poked his head out again. "Think _small_."

* * *

:Dodges rotten veggies: Please don't hate me. Popular vote demanded Lana. Besides, it's not what you think. Just bear with me 'til next chapter and you'll see what I mean, 'kay? Here's how the final vote came out:

Lana-- 4

Jessie-- 3

Chloe-- 2

Lois-- 1


	7. Chapter Six

Hey peeps. For those of you still mad at me for villainizing Lana in the last chapter, bear with me. I promise you'll see a reason for Lana's apparent hatred of Clark.

NOTE: For those of you who don't read the profiles :) I'm moving soon, and may or may not be able to update things for a few months afterward. I'll try to update all my WIPs at least once before then, but don't be mad if I can't. I'm moving within the week, in all probability. I'll let you guys know as soon as I do whether I can work on my fics or not, 'kay? If you have questions drop them in a review and I'll try to get you an answer.

DISCLAIMER: Copyrights? I don' need no steenkeen copyrights! (A cookie and an OC-- original character-- for whoever can tell me the line my disclaimer this time was a spoof of, and the movie it's from. My brother and father are always quoting the line, and I don't remember what movie they said it's from, lol. I'll ask, to make sure your answer is correct.)

**Chapter Six**

Clark laughed as the Lex's silver Porsche passed into Smallville city limits. He shook his head. "When you said 'think _small_,' I thought you meant some little island somewhere, or some secluded little village in Europe." He glanced at his friend and said softly, "Thanks, Lex."

Lex grinned, looking at Clark for a moment. "I figured you'd be more at home here than on some island or a village in Europe." Turning his eyes back onto the road-- he did _not_ want a repeat of the car crash that had brought the man next to him into his life-- his expression became more serious. "We need to drop in on your parents first. I know you don't think you're ready, but with Lana chasing you down, your parents _need_ to know."

A heavy sigh told him Clark was still reluctant. Lex spared a glance in that direction. His friend looked like a balloon that had been popped, just sagging in the passenger seat. "I know. They have a right to know what's going on, it's just... It'll be so hard to tell them. What do I say? 'Hi Mom and Dad! Life in Metropolis has been great! Not only am I an alien and a superhero, but guess what! I got raped by the ex-head cheerleader who happens to have been one of my best friends in high school!'"

To let Clark calm down a little, Lex remained silent for a moment. He hadn't known it had been so prominent in Clark's mind that he was different. Though looking back on things, he supposed he really should have guessed it would be. Clark had always been rather insecure, and anything that made him stand out in the crowd just heightened that insecurity so much more. He had always tried harder than everyone else to be normal. _He's trying to make up for being an alien by doing his best to be more human than everyone else. _

Lex sighed. "No, Clark." He paused, trying to figure out what to say. All his public speaking hadn't taught him what to say in a heart-to-heart with his best friend who was trying to decide how to tell his parents he'd been violated.

"Then what, Lex? What _do_ I tell them? Because I have no idea."

Silence permeated the little sports car as Lex once more searched for the right words. He couldn't find them.

* * *

**Kent Farm**

Lex's car idled in the Kents' driveway. He and Clark were both staring out the windshield at the little yellow house and trying to second-guess what Clark's parents-- well, Jonathan, mostly-- would say and do when they found out _why_ their son was in pictures with Lex on sloughs of newspapers.

Clark was the one to break the silence, surprising Lex enough to make him jump. "Guess I should go in, huh?"

He didn't wait for a response, just opened his door and got out of the Porsche. As he slowly began towalk toward his childhood home, he heard Lex's door pop open and shut, then another set of footsteps joined his slow, reluctant march.

When they reached the front door, Clark was at a loss as for what to do. He hadn't been home since a couple weeks before the... incident. _Can I go right in, or should I knock?_ he worried. He didn't live there anymore, but that particular rule of etiquette had never applied with his family. A hand was suddenly on his upper back, as near as Lex could comfortably put it to his shoulder. Clark made up his mind and swung the door open before he could think about it enough to decide against it.

The hand remained on his back as he moved into the living room. No one was in there. He hadn't expected anyone to be; his father would still be out in the fields, and his mother would be cooking, cleaning house and holding a debate with a couple of her friends on speaker-phone. The thought brought a slight smile to his face; his mother could debate with the best of them. Still smiling, he checked the kitchen. Not there. But he _did_ hear a voice coming from somewhere close. Clark followed his ears and found himself in the laundry room. As predicted, Martha was very adamantly standing her ground on an issue she was debating with Mrs. Fordman and Mrs. Ross. _She always has loved three-way calling_, Clark thought with amusement.

"--should have all the same rights as straight couples! What does it matter what a person's gender is, as long as the couple is in love? It shouldn't matter! Love is love!" Martha said firmly.

"But marraige has _always_ been something _exclusively_ between a man and a woman," argued Mrs. Fordman.

"Yes, but Martha has a point. In many countries gay relationships were permitted for centuries, even encouraged. And if gay marriage became legal, certain things could come into place that would make gay relationships safer and healthier," Mrs. Ross said.

"Thank you," Martha said with a grin as she folded a bright blue towel that had a big pink rose in the middle. She turned to stack it with the rest of the clean, folded laundry behind her and-- without missing a beat, "I have to go girls, Clark and Lex just got here."

"Okay, talk to you later dear," Mrs. Ross said.

"Talk to you later Martha," said Mrs. Fordman.

There were two clicks as the two women on the other end of the line hung up. Martha put away her towel, hung up her own phone and then hugged both men at the same time. "I've missed you two, why haven't you called lately?"

"Um, well, uh..." Clark and Lex both fumbled for an answer that didn't sound selfish or forgetful.

Martha rolled her eyes. "Come on, I've got cookies cooling in the kitchen."

The three moved into the kitchen. Immediately Clark grabbed one of the still-steaming cookies and ate it in two big bites. Martha shook her head, thinking, _All these years and he still always eats like it's his first food in a month._ "Your father should be in in a few minutes, Clark. And don't you dare run off, Lex."

Lex sat back down on the stool he'd claimed, blushing slightly. She always made him feel like a little kid, but in a good way. "Yes ma'am."

Martha got the guys each a glass of milk and they tucked into the cookies. As predicted, Jonathan soon came in. "Hello Son... Lex."

"Hello Mr. Kent," Lex replied, suddenly feeling inadequate. His own father and the other corporate sharks he often faced were nothing; Jonathan Kent, now _there_ was an intimidating man.

The farmer sat down and picked up the glass of milk that had been set out for him. For almost five minutes, there was peace, and Lex thought maybe Jonathan wouldn't bring up the subject of the long-time rift between him and Clark, and his sudden return. Then, "So what's this about you two living together?"

"It's not what you think, Mr. Kent," Lex said.

"But you _are_ living together?"

"Yes," Clark spoke up. "I... you see... Dad, I've been living with Lex because I trust him. He knows about Superman-- _I_ told him." His father seemed angry, and started to say something, but Clark interrupted. "Hear me out." He paused. Unable to find the right wording, he finally just said, "I don't know how she found out, but Lana knows too, and she attacked me."

Shocked silence exploded in the kitchen.

Martha was the first to speak. "That's impossible. She's been in Paris for the last eight months."


	8. Chapter Seven

Thank you for your patience, guys. I needed to reread my story and get a little freetime alone to write, and I finally did. Sorry about the long wait.

NOTICE: For those of you who haven't visited my profile page in a while, SOME of my stories have been moved to a new account under the penname "Tlingit Storyteller." These stories are ALL of the ones free of controversial material, including _Promise Me You'll Never Give Up_ and _Community Service,_ etc. Future controversial fics will be posted here under Kari Anna, and non-controversial stories will be posted under Tlingit Storyteller. If you click on the homepage link in the Kari Anna profile it will take you to the other account.

DISCLAIMER:Choked sob: I-it's a t-t-tragedy. :sniffle:

**Chapter Seven**

"What do you mean she's in Paris?" Lex demanded. "I saw her with my own eyes last night! She had thugs with her in the middle of my apartment! She had them attack Clark with kryptonite for God's sake!"

Martha waited patiently for Lex to give her a chance to answer, keeping a hand on the shoulder of her hotheaded husband who was all too ready to argue with the young man.She shook her head. "I saw her off myself. I helped her pack. That wasn't her." She paused, then said, "Maybe we need to talk to Chloe. No one's better than her at solving a mystery, and if someone is posing as Lana maybe she can track them down."

"Tina's dead, Mom," Clark pointed out.

"How do we know there weren't more like her, Son?" Jonathan replied."The meteor shower changed a lot of people."

"I've got my people on it, but I'll get ahold of Chloe and see if we can get her help,"Lex said, pulling his cellphone out of his jacket pocket. He paused. "What's her number?"

Suppressing a grin, Martha replied, "Just use our home phone, sweetie, we have her on speed dial."

* * *

Chloe arrived nearly four hours later, without any other announcement of her presence than a slam of the old farmhouse's front door and a shout of, "Sorry I'm late! Got any coffee?"

Jonathan chuckled. "Never changes." Louder, "In the kitchen, fresh brewed!"

She popped into the kitchen no more than two seconds later. "Thank you for my caffeine," she said, snagging a mug and and quickly filling it. The caffeine-addicted reporter added milk, cocoa, sugar, and cinnamon, all of which were stored in decorative jars next to the coffeemaker. "Now, what's the deal here? 'Nother meteor freak or-- Hey! Clark, I haven't seen you in forever! And what the hell? I thought you and Lex had called your friendship quits a couple years ago?"

The young men in question exchanged glances. Seeing Clark's hesitation, Lex returned his gaze to Chloe and did the talking. "Well, certain circumstances have brought us back together."

Something was off. Chloe could feel it. Reporter instincts were almost never wrong, and she faithfully followed hers, as she always had. "Yeah, I noticed the rags saying you guys were a couple. What the hell is that about? And I checked with MetU, and according to their records you two _are_ living together, so don't you dare deny it."

"Clark was attacked. He came to me for help, and we've been working on it. It's a repeated threat. We thought the attacker was Lana."

"Waiiiiit a sec. The pom pom princess, little Miss Perfect in Pink... attacked someone? Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket. My odds of winning would be better than that," Chloe interrupted. She snatched a seat between Martha and Lex, obviously hooked.

Ignoring the suggestion of impossibility, Lex continued, "So I brought Clark here and--"

"Why? Your penthouse should be pretty safe," the blonde persisted.

Anger swirled in Lex's mind, spreading red tentacles of violent thought. Lana or not, whoever had attacked Clark would be within Hell's gates when Lex got through with her. "I thought it was. Apparently not though, because one of the attacks occurred there. Whoever she was, she knew what she was doing, and she brought hired muscle with her."

"What made you think she was Lana?" At this point, Chloe was taking notes.

"She looked like her, and the voice was the same." Heads turned. Everyone was a little surprised that Clark had finally given some input. "But it can't be, because Mom shipped her off to Paris eight months ago."

"So you think it was a meteor freak? This one's _really_ gonna take some explaining, because I thought Tina was the only one who could change into other people, and--"

It was Lex's turn to interrupt. "I know, she's been dead for years. What do you suggest then? That it was all a figment of my imagination, and Clark's?" He paused. Then rubbed at his head in a futile attempt to banish a headache and said, "I'm sorry. I'm angry someone would do this, that's all."

Martha reached across the table to put a reassuring hand on Lex's. "I know, but we'll get through this. We always do."

True enough, they'd all faced more than their share of the abnormal, and of violence. "What amazes me is that someone could get past the doorman, two security people, three of your goons," pointing to the bald man, "then keep you and Clark from doing anything about the attack. I mean, it's pretty hard just to get past the doorman. I know for a fact every doorman that has ever worked at that building is either an ex-bouncer, or an ex-pro martial artist of some sort and can lift at least two or three hundred pounds dead on his feet."

Lex shook his head. "She had three goons with her that we saw, but maybe she brought more. Or maybe how she got in had to do with how she made herself seem to be Lana."

"Well, getting her profile won't do me any good, since you already said she was Lana's doppelganger, but maybe I can find something if you give me the profiles of the thugs?" Chloe offered, looking up from the notepad she'd been using. After getting that, she asked, "Now when you say 'attacked,' in reference to what the Lana look-alike and her thugs did to Clark, what do you mean? And I want specific details for _both_ attacks."

Clark paled. Memories rippled, threatening to splash over him. Lex must have noticed,because heplaced a hand on Clark's arm under the table. It calmed him a little. Even over several weeksLex hadn't been able to coax any more information from Clark about the first attack. Most of what he knew about it came from what Clark did and said on nights when he had nightmares about it.

"What'd I say?" came Chloe's bewildered voice.

When Clark and Lex shot their frienda strange look, Martha said, "You two got so quiet. What did the girl do?"

Clark swallowed hard. _Leave it to Chloe to make me admit what happened. Her and that reporter's instinct,_ he thought somewhat bitterly. Then, in a very small voice, he answered the question.

"She raped me."


	9. Chapter Eight

_/Dodges stinky shoes and rotting veggies/_ Eep! Sorry about the wait on the update! I got a full-time job, there's only one phone line, and I live with _twelve_ other people, 'kays?

DISCLAIMER: _/Screams/_ It's _MINE_, it's finally mine! _/Looks at the letter and bursts into tears/_ It's _not_ mine. WAAAH! I want my lawyer!

**Chapter Nine**

Clark felt as if someone had tied kryptonite weights around his ankles and thrown him into Crater Lake.

Shakily, he reached for his glass of water as he waited for Chloe's reaction-- and more importantly, his parents' reactions.

Martha brought her hand to her mouth, mortified. "Oh my God, _Clark._"

Her eyes welled up with tears, and Jonathan's voice was thick as he asked, "How did she manage that, Son?"

"I-- one minute I was telling this girl to go home, the next there was kryptonite everywhere," Clark answered, trying to block out the memories of helplessness.

"Why would anyone--" Martha started, but was interrupted by her son.

"It has something to do with being Superman."

Chloe frowned, started to pick up her coffee, but set it back down in favor of a question. "What makes you think that."

"She said she'd been a fan since she'd first seen him." Clark was looking at his hands, the wall, anywhere but his shocked parents' eyes.

"So whoever this psycho is, she-- _or he_-- is hellbent on tormenting the local lifesaver? It doesn't make sense," Chloe muttered.

"Life's like that sometimes," Jonathan said, for once not having a more appropriate platitude.

Except for the clinking of Chloe's spoon in her coffee mug, it was pretty much silent for a few minutes as the older Kents absorbed all this. The quiet made Clark even more nervous than the questions had.

Lex was the polar opposite. The commotion had scraped his nerves raw with tension as he worried about Clark. Too much talking, not enough _doing._ _What's going to happen when she comes back?_ he wondered, world-wise enough to know nothing would stop her from doing so. After all, she wasn't exactly sane.

A bird kept chirping outside the window, and in the relative peace it stuck out like a girl in a gay bar. It didn't help the tension headache the young businessman felt coming on, and he considered asking to borrow Jonathan's shotgun to kill the damn thing.

Unable to stand it anymore, he asked, "So what do we do?"

Chloe sighed. "First, I have a friend of mine at Met PD do a sweep of your apartment and everything the police took for evidence, and see if she can get some DNA testing done. If this person has a criminal record, we'll at least know who we're after. If not, we'll have something to compare future evidence with." Seeing the distressed,wide-eyed look on her farmboy friend, she amended, "If there _is_ future evidence. Once we've figured out who this is, we get as much info on this girl as possible. Phone numbers, address, see if she pops up in any old newspapers, run a total background check on her. Then we go from there."

Lex nodded.

"In the meantime," Jonathan said, stern lookin place, "our son stays here."

"That's why I brought him here, Mr. Kent."

"Lex stays too," Martha dictated in that quiet, the-foot-is-down way she had.

"Alright, Martha," her husband sighed. He looked as if he'd just agreed to grow a colony of mold in his closet.

"Okay. Well, I'll see you all later," Chloe said, dumping the dregs of her coffee in the sink and rinsing out the mug before leaving.

The farmer's wife sighed. "Well boys, you can share the loft, or you can share your old room Clark."

"The loft," Clark said.

"I'll help you boys get it in shape," Martha offered as she rose from her chair.

Jonathan slipped out to tend the fields, and to think a little more on the chaos that had just entered the household.


End file.
